Having won the Test series 2-1 and following that up with a relatively comfortable victory in the first T20I, New Zealand will be looking to end their tour of the Caribbean on a high when they face off against the hosts in the second and final T20I in Roseau, Dominica. Meanwhile, West Indies will be keen to come up with a solid all-round display and prevent the Black Caps from walking away with two trophies.

In the rain-curtailed first T20I, Andre Fletcher scored a fine half-century and walked away with the Player of the Match award, but that was not enough to prevent New Zealand from taking an unassailable lead. While Fletcher was in his elements, and received some support from Darren Bravo, the rest of the batters failed to come to the party, which meant that the hosts could only manage 132 in the available 18 overs.

Tim Southee was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers, giving away just 20 runs in the 4 overs while picking up the important wickets of Dwayne Smith and Kieron Pollard. Trent Boult and Corey Anderson also scalped two apiece. The only disappointment for New Zealand would have been that Ish Sodhi (1/35 in 3 overs) did not quite have a T20I debut to cherish.

Their inability to post a bigger total hurt the hosts as rain had the final say with New Zealand 12 runs ahead of the D/L par score, despite Darren Sammy picking up three wickets. Weather had a huge bearing on the game as the West Indies bowlers found it very hard to grip the ball.

Home-team captain Sammy said after the match that "the conditions didn't allow" them to defend the total, which rival skipper Brendon McCullum agreed to. Both teams will be hoping that the weather stays good for the second game and as McCullum reckoned: "hopefully the people of Dominica see two good teams slug it out in great conditions."

New Zealand decided to give Kane Williamson an opportunity to hone his captaincy skills, naming him as captain for this game. The Black Caps were unchanged while West Indies made one change, bringing in Sheldon Cottrell for Krishmar Santokie, who complained of some stiffness.

West Indies would have hoped for a positive start from the openers, but they were in for a disappointment as Dwayne Smith fell cheaply again. The opener started off in a promising fashion, hitting Tim Southee for consecutive boundaries in the opening over. However, the bowler had the last laugh as he got one to nip back into the batsman in the 3rd over and the ball clipped the pads before crashing on to the stumps.

Update : Couple of reprieves for Fletcher

Lendl Simmons, who also failed in the first game, was struggling to get going. He played and missed quite a few times against Trent Boult, who began his spell with a maiden. The left-handed pacer also bowled a good second over, giving away just two runs to keep West Indies in check. Half-centurion in the first game, Andre Fletcher eased the pressure a bit, hitting Jimmy Neesham for a six and a four in the fifth over. New Zealand had a chance to send Fletcher back in the same over, but McCullum missed a direct hit at the striker's end, giving the batsman an extended stay. While Simmons managed to deposit Boult over the third man fence in the final over of powerplay, Fletcher had another lucky break as the bowler missing a run-out opportunity in the same over. West Indies moved to 36/1 after 6.

Update : Fifty for WI and half-century stand

Simmons edged Neesham to the third man fence in the 7th over while an outside edge off Corey Anderson to the same area yielded Fletcher a boundary in the next and also helped West Indies to the 50-run mark. The half-century stand for the second wicket was raised in the 9th over when Simmons hit Neesham to the mid-wicket boundary. While he struggled a bit initially, Simmons got a lot more confident as he spent time at the middle. A superb pick-up shot off Anderson in the 10th over carried the ball past the fine leg fence before he caressed one through the cover region for a boundary. Simmons too had a reprieve - BJ Watling missed a direct hit at the striker's end in the 10th over as West Indies moved to 73/1.

Wicket : Sodhi strikes to end good stand

Simmons could not use his reprieve to good effect as he fell to Ish Sodhi in the 11th over on 36 off 34. He tried to deposit the leg-spinner over long on but could not time it properly. Anderson, who was about to lose his balance after holding on to the ball close to the boundary ropes, threw it up before crossing the ropes and re-entered the field in time to catch the ball again.

Miss and a wicket : Williamson sends back Bravo

After missing a few run-out opportunities, New Zealand's poor day in the field continued as Neesham put down a catch while running back from cover in the 13th over. Sodhi was the unlucky bowler while Darren Bravo was the lucky batsman and he added insult to injury by finishing the over with a four and a six. However, Neesham's miss was not too costly as Williamson sent back the left-hander in the following over.

Milestone : Fifty for Fletcher

A single for Fletcher off the last ball of the 14th over helped West Indies to 100 before the batsman hit Southee over the long off boundary to enter the 40s. Kieron Pollard hit Anderson for back-to-back fours in the following over before Fletcher brought up his second fifty of the series with a single off Neesham in the 17th over. The over, however, did not yield too many - just four singles - as the hosts moved to 126/3 with three overs remaining in the innings.

Update : Eventful 18th over

Pollard could not do too much damage apart from the boundaries he managed earlier off Anderson. It was the same bowler who sent back Pollard in the 18th over, which was possible due to a brilliant catch by Boult at deep mid-wicket. The fielder almost overbalanced while holding on to the ball but had the presence of mind to throw it up in the air before diving back in to hold on to a stunning one-handed catch. The over though did not end as well as Anderson would have hoped for as Fletcher hit him for a maximum straight down the ground, Sammy did the same (although it was a mishit which cleared the ropes) and the skipper pulled the last ball of the over to the mid-wicket fence.

Innings end : West Indies end up with good total

While 17 runs came in the 18th over, the penultimate one yielded 11 for the hosts although they lost Fletcher and Sammy in the process. Fletcher started the over with a cut past backward point for a boundary before he was castled by Boult on 62. Sammy offered a simple catch to Anderson at long off while trying to go over the top and the captain departed on 10. Andre Russell then guided one cleverly past backward point to help West Indies past 150. The final over, which was bowled by Southee, also yielded 11 runs with Russell ending the innings in style with a boundary over extra cover as West Indies finished with 165/6.

West Indies got their first wicket in the second over with Cottrell managing the breakthrough. After whipping one to the fine leg fence, Neesham sliced a low full-toss outside-off straight to backward point where Bravo held on to a sharp catch. There was an appeal for stumping off Samuel Badree in the third over after Williamson missed a cut and dragged his back foot out of the crease. It was a touch and go decision for the the third umpire, who eventually gave the benefit of doubt to the batsman.

Update : New Zealand up ante

It was a slightly slow start for New Zealand before the visitors upped the ante with a few boundaries. Williamson executed a fine sweep off Badree in the 3rd over before McCullum hit Cottrell for two boundaries and a six in the next. While the six by McCullum was a clean hit over long off, the fours were edges to the third man fence. Sunil Narine, who bowled the fifth over, kept it tight before bowling the last ball short, which was pulled by Williamson to the fine leg fence.

Wicket : Badree strikes to send back McCullum

Just when things were looking good for New Zealand, they suffered another setback as McCullum fell to Badree on 21. It was a short delivery and the batsman could have easily put it away, but he ended up cutting it straight to Simmons at cover-point. McCullum departed in the final over of powerplay, which was a maiden, leaving the Black Caps at 40/2.

Update : Williamson guides NZ

New Zealand crossed the 50-mark when Williamson used his feet well to loft Badree for a boundary in the 8th over. The leg-spinner finished with economical figures of 1/20 from his 4 overs. New Zealand's skipper for this game, Williamson was doing a good job with the bat, guiding his team in the chase. He managed his fourth boundary in the 9th over with an inside-out shot off Sammy. Ross Taylor, on the other hand, was struggling to get going. There were quite a few play and misses and the right-hander also had a lucky break when Ramdin missed a tough chance in the 9th over. Taylor managed his first boundary when he slashed Russell over backward point in the 10th over before Williamson dispatched a short delivery in front of square for a boundary in the same over to take New Zealand to 75/2 after 10.

Wickets : Quick strikes hurt New Zealand

Williamson and Taylor added 42 runs for the third wicket before the partnership came to an end when the former fell to Pollard in the 12th over on 37. It was an off-cutter that cramped the batsman for room and it hit Williamson's thigh pad before going on to clip the stumps. New Zealand were in more trouble when Taylor departed in the next over. After playing a fine paddle off Narine for a boundary, the batsman was castled by a ball that turned in sharply and had to depart on 21. New Zealand were 88/4 after 13 overs, needing 78 more.

Update : West Indies tighten the noose

Pollard and Sammy bowled a couple of tight overs and the required rate climbed to 13.4 at the end of the 15th over. With New Zealand desperately in need of getting a move on, Anderson got into the act by hitting Pollard over the long off boundary off the first ball of the 16th to take the total past 100. Luke Ronchi also managed a maximum in the same over, pulling one over deep mid-wicket. However, things got a lot more tougher for New Zealand as they lost two wickets in the next over. Ronchi picked Russell at long off while trying to go over the top while BJ Watling was run-out as the Black Caps slipped to 116/6 after 17 overs. Narine finished with fine figures of 2/19 from his four.

Match End : WI level series with 39-run win

West Indies closed in on a series-leveling win as danger-man Anderson fell off the first ball of the 18th over. Trying to heave Cottrell over the top, Anderson did not middle it properly and Sammy, running across from long on, dived to take a brilliant catch. Cottrell ended the over with his third wicket as Tom Latham sliced the ball straight to Bravo at backward point. Southee fell off the last ball of the penultimate over, handing a catch to Cottrell at short fine-leg while trying to play a scoop shot. Boult was the last to depart, run-out in the final over courtesy of a direct hit by Bravo at the non-striker's end as West Indies won the game by 39 runs to level the two-match series.

Ganguly outlined the need to have more than two practice games in Australia come December before embarking on the four Test series and stated what Jadeja needs to do if he wants to improve as a Test player. Excerpts from a freewheeling conversation with Boria Majumdar: